The Finished Product

All I had remaining to do were the final steps in completing the gown. I had to whip stitch, by hand, the collar over the top of the gown to hid the raw edges of the pleats. It was important that the stitches were small so the batiste hid the thread. After the collar was finished, my mentor showed me how to sew the snaps on the back of the dress and line them up properly. With the snaps on, the only task not completed was to hem the bottom of the gown. My mentor suggested that I use a two-inch hem. I ironed along the bottom of the gown and pined the batiste in place. My mentor held the gown up to guarantee the bottom would be even. Then, I finished my gown by hemming the bottom. My product portion of my Graduation Project was finally completed.

Removing the Black Threads

The whole time I was smocking, the black threads inserted by the pleating machine ensured that the pleats were held in the batiste. Now that my gown was sewed together, it was time to remove the black threads from the pleats. I cut all the knots from the black threads and gently pulled them from the batiste. It was the most rewarding feeling to see my smocking design holding all the delicate pleats in place without the distraction of the black threads.

The Construction of the Gown

After I completed the smocking of my gown, I actually had to sew it together. I sewed French seams on the back and on the two sides. There was a lot more preparation involved than actual sewing. To make a French seam, I first had to pin and iron the batiste. Then I sewed down the batiste in a straight line. As I was sewing, I removed the pins. Once the first seam was sewed into the fabric, I had to turn the dress inside out and iron the fabric flat. I had to trim the excess raw edges from the batiste so the edges were even. I then sewed along the inside of the gown so there were no raw edges showing. After the seams on the back and sides were completed, my mentor showed me how to hem the sleeves. Then, my mentor demonstrated how to sew the elastic into the sleeves. Once the sleeves were completed, my mentor displayed how to properly attach the collar and the small back piece of the gown where the snaps were to be placed.

Smocking the Gown

My mentor began by explaining the difference between smocking my sampler and my gown. When smocking the sampler, I smocked in a straight line. Now that I was smocking my gown, it was imperative that I smocked in a semicircle. Smocking in a circular fashion ensures that the gown would lie nicely on the baby. If I smocked straight across, the gown would not fit together properly. My mentor also taught me how to read a smocking pattern. I learned how to interpret the instructions for smocking the difference rows. After learning, I smocked for many hours to finish the decoration.

Blocking and Centering

At our next meeting, I counted all the pleats in the batiste so my mentor and I would know where the center of the batiste was. When smocking, it is very important that the stitches are centered so the patterns will become centered on the gown once the stitches are completed. After counting three times to ensure there was no human error, we used a fabric marker to mark the center of the batiste. On either side of the mark there were an equal number of pleats. I used an iron to block the pleats into the fabric.

Cutting Out the Batiste

To begin my gown, my mentor educated me on how to read a sewing pattern. We used the pattern paper and placed it on the batiste (smocking fabric). We used pins to attach the pattern to the batiste. Once the pattern was correctly place on the batiste, my mentor cut out the back section of the gown. After the demonstration, I cut out the two sidepieces and the front section. My mentor then demonstrated how to sew a French seam by sewing the two sidepieces to the front section. In smocking it is very important that there are no raw edges showing. A French seam is a tiny seam that hides all the raw edges. After the sides were attached to the front, we used the pleating machine to create pleats in the batiste.

The Completed Sampler

My mentor taught me the cable stitch, the baby wave, and the quarter wave first. A majority of smocking stitches are variations or combinations of the cable stitch and the quarter wave. I continued to learn the honeycomb stitch and the outline stitch. Once I learned these basics, my mentor taught me the more complex stitches. I completed the Van Dyke stitch and the floweret and leaflet motif. After catching every pleat with my embroidery thread, the rows of my sampler were completed. I had to back-smock the one empty row. Back-smocking is stitching the cable stitch on the back of the pleated fabric just to hold the pleats in place. It does not have a decorative purpose.

Beginning the Sampler

To begin my sampler, my mentor demonstrated how to pleat fabric with a pleating machine. We ironed the white fabric and placed the edge of the fabric into the machine. The machine has sixteen needles with black thread attached to them. When the fabric passes through the hand-cranked machine, the needles catch the fabric and create the pleats. Once the fabric was pleated, we blocked the fabric by steaming it. Blocking ensures that the pleats are permanent. My mentor then began to teach me the basic stitches of smocking.